Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups sifted Martha White flour or all-purpose flour

(sift before measuring)

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening

    or lard (makes the best biscuits)

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 440 degrees with rack in the middle. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. . Add shortening, coating it with flour, then rub between your fingertips until coarsely blended with some 1/2-inch lumps. Make a well in the flour mixture and then add buttermilk, stirring with a fork just until dough forms and holds together (it will be soft and sticky.)

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 8 to 10 times. Too much kneading leads to tough biscuits. Roll out dough with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round (1/2-3/4 inch thick) and, using a fork dipped in flour, prick all the way through about every 1/2 inch.

Cat Head Biscuits

Cat Head Biscuits

They are, well, as big a s a cats head!

Here is the recipe: makes 6 biscuits

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces and softened

4 tablespoons shortening cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/4 cups buttermilk (sub 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 1/4 cups milk, let sit 10 minutes)

Preheat oven to 425. Grease 9 inch cake pan.

Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Rub in butter and shortening, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Using a 1/2 cup measure or spring loaded ice cream scoop, transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into prepared pan. 

Placing 5 around the pan and 1 in the center.

Bake until golden and puffed,20-25 minutes. 

Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. 

Serve.